It all begins with an idea

Building trust across America's divides
TEDxChicago Dustin Huibregtse TEDxChicago Dustin Huibregtse

Building trust across America's divides

In this powerful talk, Meg Whitty shares lessons from childhood campaign trails in rural Iowa that shaped her career building coalitions for sustainable aviation fuel. Drawing from experience across agriculture, energy, and aviation sectors, she reveals how authentic trust unlocks solutions to seemingly impossible challenges. Whitty demonstrates how the same communities devastated by hospital closures and economic decline can lead the clean energy transition, creating jobs while solving aviation's 3% contribution to global emissions. The presentation examines specific techniques for bringing together competing interests around shared goals, challenging false choices between economy and environment. Her message resonates particularly with leaders seeking to bridge political and geographic divides.

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How Youth Lead Peacekeeping
WTTW Dustin Huibregtse WTTW Dustin Huibregtse

How Youth Lead Peacekeeping

After being surrounded by gang violence and losing a friend because of it, Monse Ayala discovered three essential needs that are lacking in vulnerable communities – community, stability, and recognition. Through intimate stories of loss and transformation, she reveals how meeting these core needs can break cycles of violence.

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Photography, sisterhood, and play as healing
TEDxChicago, awe agency Featured Dustin Huibregtse TEDxChicago, awe agency Featured Dustin Huibregtse

Photography, sisterhood, and play as healing

How do we heal? Through an intimate exploration of trauma and healing, photographer Scheherazade Tillet shares how documenting her sister's recovery from sexual assault transformed both their lives while also inspiring her to work with similarly Black girls and young women. Two decades later, Tillet reveals that she discovered how photography and play can become powerful tools for healing intergenerational trauma.

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How you react in 3 minutes can change your life
TEDxChicago Dustin Huibregtse TEDxChicago Dustin Huibregtse

How you react in 3 minutes can change your life

Three minutes can change your life. When young people are faced with a challenge, one wrong decision can affect their future. Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. and Brightpoint started Choose to Change™, a program providing Chicago youth with a neighborhood-based Advocate and trauma informed cognitive behavioral therapy, and it is producing positive results.

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The Playbook for Creating Lasting Change
TEDxChicago Dustin Huibregtse TEDxChicago Dustin Huibregtse

The Playbook for Creating Lasting Change

Mike Strautmanis has been engaging Chicagoans and stakeholders all over the country to learn how to create systemic impact to empower young leaders to give back to their communities and increase access to economic opportunity. He not only shares his story, but also how we can make a difference on each other and influence the next generation of leaders.

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Ending Global Hunger: Yes We Can.
TEDxChicago Dustin Huibregtse TEDxChicago Dustin Huibregtse

Ending Global Hunger: Yes We Can.

Ertharin Cousin shares an idea about how we must invest resources, finances, and ourselves differently so that we can truly build resilient agricultural systems all over the world, especially in the face of climate change.

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How everyday interactions shape your future

How everyday interactions shape your future

A few words can change the course of a life; they have the power to shrink, expand or transform someone's identity -- even your own. Social psychologist Mesmin Destin explores how everyday interactions and experiences play a powerful part in who we become, sharing the key moments and messages that can inspire us to grow into our best selves.

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